Sometimes, Support Is All You Need
by foraminutethereilostmyself
Summary: When Beatrice and Natalie Prior move to Chicago from a small English town, they encounter new people and try to deal with the trauma Beatrice has suffered, with the help of a few others. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the** **characters, or Divergent, I'm not saying I am, and I'm not making any profit from this (although that would be nice).**

 _Friday, 22nd August 2014_

The Support Group back in England was pretty shit. I understand that they were doing what they could on a NHS fund, but overall, it didn't help much. That means for the one here in Chicago, my hopes are as low as they can be.

As I walk into the hall, the size of the group intrigues me. In England, the group'd had twenty to thirty people in it, with four condescending assholes who called themselves 'Social Workers'. But, this new group seems much smaller; There are seven teenagers all sat in a semi-circle, and two adults in front of them. Two of the seats are empty, both either side of a girl with a snarl on her face and a buzz-cut. After nodding at the man and woman at the front of the room, I take a seat.

"It's nice to see a new face here today, and I believe we will have another person joining us this session."

It was explained before this moment that all the kids are given numbers, and they'll be referred to by those numbers until they offer up their names. My number is Six, judging my the placement of my seat.

I take a few minutes to look around the room at the glum faces of the other teens. In seat number one, there's a girl, she looks older than me, but not by much; She's got light brown hair, and soft features. The dark circles under her eyes and gormless expression on her face are the only things that make her seem unapproachable. She's wearing nice, stylish clothes and her hair is clean and shiny, but her eyes are so devilish that I'm guessing it'd scare away most people.

Another girl is in spot number two. She's got dark skin and short hair, her face pissed off and angry with the world. Her body is petite, but strong, it's only muscle on her bones.

Number three is a boy. He's got blonde shaggy hair and light green eyes. He seems approachable, but I'm sure he's just as fucked up as the rest of us.

Seat number four is empty.

The girl with the buzz-cut is in number five, next to me. As I look at her, her dark eyes stare straight ahead. Arms crossed, legs carelessly flung forward, clothes dark and ratty. She obviously doesn't give two shits.

The two boys in seats seven and eight look very similar: related, maybe? They both have dark curly hair, smooth, caramel skin, and gorgeous, sleek features. The same loss in their eyes.

Lastly, the girl in number nine. She looks completely normal. Whatever 'normal' is. She's got brown hair, brown eyes, pink lips, a slight body, pale skin. There was nothing significant about her; But, then again, there isn't with me either.

My short blonde hair hangs straight above my shoulders, but is covered by a dark beanie. My skin is pale. My eyes are blue. Blue eyes, pale skin and blonde hair mean lack of pigment. Lack of pigment means nothing much. Nothing much is what I a—

The door slams harshly against the peeling walls of the community centre. All eyes turn to the back to see a boy, or maybe a man, walking over. His limbs are long, but full. Shoulders are broad, but built. Legs, muscular, but slim. His hair is dark, curly, flicking up as it meets his ears, or his neck. But, his eyes. His eyes are the most interesting thing in the room.

"Number four, so glad you could make it." The man says, looking at the boy—number four—with trust in his eyes, not fear.

"Okay, let's get started…" the woman says. "I'm Tori. This is Amar. And we're here to help you talk about your experiences and maybe let you move on from them," she explains. "We're not here to watch your grumpy faces stare at us for an hour before letting you leave only to come back two days later with the same sullen mugs. We promise to help you, if you promise to help yourselves."

"I think this goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway; Whatever is said in this room, stays in this room. This is not a place of judgement, and we will not laugh at anybody for what they say, or do, in these sessions… Does anybody feel like sharing?"

Number one clears her throat, sits up and clasps her hands together in her lap. She seems like a nice girl, was probably brought up in a nice house, with a nice family and a nice life, but I know what a 'nice' life can do to a person. It makes them numb, reckless, the need to feel something, anything, builds up inside until they finally snap—like a branch from an old Oak tree, the weight of itself, pulling it down, down until it finally gives way and… crack. All you've got left is an unhappy tree and a dying, deprived branch, rotting away on the ground.

"My name is Shauna. I'm eighteen, and I'm here because I have a drinking problem."

"Thank you for sharing, Shauna," Tori says, again everyone nods to Shauna, and then moves on. This goes on a while…

Number seven is called Zeke. He starts talking about how he was pulled into a gang at the age of thirteen—he's seventeen now—and was recently arrested for fighting, therefore prompting the help.

"Um, so yeah, I can't say I'm unhappy being here, getting help, y'know, so, thanks for that…" he ends. I see people nodding their heads slightly, attention shifting back to the Social Workers.

Lynn—Number Five—rants about her parents, who are also Shauna's parents I find out later, and about 'what do they expect, they neglect us and then cry and shout and scream when they find out that we do drugs, or we drink, or have sex, just to try and get their attention. It's just, I swear, they never even wanted kids, but they've got three, and Shauna and I are not the favourites'.

Uriah—Number Eight, Zeke's brother—explains the feeling he gets, 'the need to punch something, to not only cause pain to the other person, because you see, they're just like us, they need to feel it too, but to also feel it myself, y'know. The need to feel anything but the pain you get at home, or in school or in fucking church, I don't know!'

Then there's Christina—Number Two, god she's a handful—she talks about her experience with the school bully. 'But, oh no, you laugh, it may not seem like a big deal, aww she gets bullied, poor girl, but no, this guy, he was relentless, a psychopath, he just would not stop! Every day, the fear of seeing him, every night, the pain of letting it happen. It's just a vicious cycle'.

Christina's boyfriend Will—Number Three—had his own experience with bullying. 'The family friend who you don't like, who gives you the creeps, but you have to withstand for your parent's sake. And then when you try and tell your parents what's happening, they just shrug it off. 'Don't be so silly William, think about other people William, your life is no where near as bad as some people's lives, William.' And maybe it's not, I accept that, but like, you are always the centre of your own universe. You only have the experiences that you've had, and you can't compare it to anyone else's experiences because, you haven't been through them, so fuck you, mother'.

And last was Marlene, or Mar, as she preferred—Number Nine—'You know that person you absolutely hate at school, the one you avoid at all costs, only to get glared at, or cursed at, for no reason. Never had a conversation with this girl ever, and then she follows me home, beats the ever-loving shit out of me, and tells my parents that the bruise she got from me defending myself, was in fact, me bullying her. And she's that sort of girl y'know, the one everyone believes. It not fucking fair, s'all I'm saying'.

Amar looks over at me.

"Would you like to share today, Six?" he asks, smiling minutely at me.

"Uh, I— I can," I say, twisting my fingers together. I see small smile and raising of eyebrows as the people in the room hear my English accent; It's not a particularly posh one, but it's more acceptable than most. "Um, I'm sixteen, moved here, to Chicago, about two weeks ago. I'm from East Anglia in England… Um, yeah…" I look up at Tori and she smiles a smile quirk of the lips and helps me out.

"And why are you here today, Six?"

"I uh…" _Oh shit, I hate this part…_ "I uh, was, um, r-raped continually by my next door neighbour, um, I was fourteen at the time, so was he… And, uh, yeah, so they said that to help me 'get over it', I should go to Support Group Meetings, but, uh, they don't seem to be working…"

"Well, things like this take time, Six, it doesn't just disappear like magic, it takes effort and support, hence the Support Group, and you should know that all the things said inside of these walls, will stay within these walls. You can relax in here, okay?" she smiles warily at me then, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Number four, would you like to say anything?" Amar asks. All eyes turn to number four. I see his gaze flicker to me. My cheeks heat.

He clears his throat.

"Not particularly."

 **Feel free to tell me what you think. I may not be the best at keeping up with updates, but I'll try my best. Hope you find my story interesting. - D**


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, now, we have an assignment for you all. You'll get into groups of three, not siblings or best friends, and then you will spend at least two hours round each person's house, you have a week to do this, so, we expect the first meet up to be done by the next session, on Monday. So, Will, Zeke and Marlene, you're in a group together. Christina, Shauna and Uriah, you guys in a group. And Six, Four and Lynn, you are the last group. Exchange numbers, make plans, we'll see you on Monday…" Tori and Amar stand up, grab their stuff and walk over to the table at the back, talking about something or other.

Trust me to get stuck in the most Anti-Social group.

"Here," Lynn hands me a notebook that was in her backpack and a pen, I write my number down on two different sheets, and then hand the pad to Four. We each have a piece of paper with the other two people's numbers on them when we leave, nodding at each other, and shoving our hands into our pockets.

When my Mum starts asking me how it went, I explain the assignment to her and she frowns.

"Should you really be spending time with druggies and alcoholics without supervision?"

"Mum, that's not nice," I say, looking across the car at her.

"Yeah, I know," she says begrudgingly. "Let's go home."

 _Saturday, 23rd August 2014_

I wake up to the insistent buzzing of my phone that was resting on my chest when I fell asleep last night. I pick it up to see three missed calls from unknown numbers, _probably Four or Lynn_ , I say to myself. After struggling to sit up on my bed, I redial the number and am met with the ever-so-sarcastic voice of Lynn.

"You free today?" She asks, sounding more friendly than she did last night. I clear my throat and reply affirmatively. "Great, you got a pen? Write this down…"

After washing, getting dressed and eating, I'm ready to leave for the address that Lynn gave me.

"MUM, I'M LEAVING NOW!" I shout back up the stairs. I hear a grunt in reply and slam the door on my way out. The address isn't far from where I live, so I decide to walk, to try and get used to my new neighbourhood. My Mum left my Dad after the whole incident with our next door neighbour, Robert. My Mum doesn't blame my Dad, it's just that with everything that was happening, his ugly side reared it's big head, and she had her eyes opened. My brother, Caleb, opted to stay with my Dad, whilst I chose my Mum. And that's just the way it goes, I mean, yeah, I do miss them a lot, but I know that it's better off this way, Dad has a high up job back I'm England, Caleb is a shoe-in for a position at a very prestigious College, and my Mum and I have both always dreamed of moving to America, only to be pulled back by my Dad. The whole situation makes sense really.

As I turn down into Lynn's driveway, butterflies start to flap around in my stomach. I raise my hand to knock on the door, but it swings away from me before I have the chance. I am now stood face to face with Lynn.

"Hey, come on in…" she says, a small smile planted on her face and a slight pink tinge to her cheeks. "Four's already upstairs…" she says as she motions toward the steep staircase opposite the door. I start to climb up, aware that Lynn face is in line with my ass. I start to jog up the stairs, as a blush creeps onto my cheeks, _God, why am I so awkward?_ As I get to the landing at the top of the stairs, I take a quick glance around and see, through an open door, Four sitting in a desk chair, spinning aimlessly. Lynn pushes me through the door and I stumble slightly as I enter the room.

"Woah, steady there!" Four says, grabbing onto my waist as I nearly face plant the floor.

"Um, thanks… Sorry…" I chuckle slightly and stand up straight, although I'm only just taller than him whilst he's sitting on a chair. Lynn drags me over the the bed and pushes me down so I perch on the edge, and then she follows, flopping down onto the bed.

"So, what are we meant to be doing? Hanging out? Talking about our feelings?" Lynn asks, looking at Four and me. I just shrug and pick at my nails.

 _I sit there, my maths textbook open on my desk, a pencil hanging between my teeth. Robert is at our house, helping me study for the test next week. After an hour and a bit, he suggests a break, I agree readily, laying back on my bed. Robert has been one of my best friends since we were toddlers, running around, playing pirates, or horses, or Mario Kart as we get older._

 _"_ _You're really pretty, Bea…" Robbie says, relaxing next to me, propped up on his elbow and looking into my eyes. I blush, of course I blush! I'm fourteen, my body is changing, so I blush… "Can I kiss you?" Robbie asks, and as I go to sit up, he rests his hand on my abdomen._

 _"_ _I don't think that's the best idea, Robbie. You're my best friend, I don't want to ruin that…" I say, and it's the truth, he is my best friend._

 _"_ _Come on, Bea, think of it as a thanks for helping you out…" he says, a creepy smile appearing on his face. This time, I really try to sit up, but he's faster, crawling over me before I can move. I know that no-one's in the house, or even the house next door—my parent's and Robert's parents have taken a trip into London, and my brother Caleb and Robbie's sister Susan are on a date-day down at the beach. The next thing I know, Robbie has his tongue in my mouth, and I'm scrambling to get him off of me—_

"Hey, Six… Hello?" Four and Lynn said, snapping me out of my daze. There was a tear down my cheek and I wiped it away sloppily.

"Sorry, sorry, just—I get flashbacks sometimes. I'm sorry." I reply, taking in a shaky breath.

"Don't worry about it. We all get them," Four says, smiling slightly over at me. That quirk of the lips makes me feel pathetic. He rests a soft hand on my shoulder, and I shy away from the touch. He withdraws his hand after seeing my reaction, and crouches down in front of me, looking up with worrisome eyes. "I'm sorry, okay, I know It's hard to go through stuff like that, I'm sorry," I look at him before flicking my gaze to Lynn, she's watching, seemingly fascinated by the interaction. Four looks up, too, and remembers Lynn, he immediately puts his walls back up and moves back onto the desk chair. He clears his throat, and runs a hand through his hair.

"So the mysterious Four does have a heart… who would have guessed…"

A disgusting snort bursts it's way out of me then, causing Lynn and Four to join in the laughter. We sit there for a while, in companionable silence, before chatting, eating and watching a movie.

The compulsory two hours turn into voluntary six and a half hours, until the clock strikes seven and my Mum calls for me to come home. We say our goodbyes to Lynn before Four offers to walk back with me. As it turns out, my house is between Lynn's and Four's, so he walks me home, awkwardly leaves and then walks home himself.

 _Monday, 25th August 2014_

During tonight's meeting, Four, Lynn and I share inside jokes and laugh about benign things whilst the others look on in shock as the three less sociable members of the Support Group happily chat away about what we did on the Saturday beforehand. Tori and Amar share a proud smile whilst Lynn tells to story about how Four ended up hanging out of her window on a dare when we were together.

"We're happy to see you three getting on well, keep up the good work. But, maybe tomorrow, when you go to the next person's house, try to talk about your experiences. Even if you don't want to talk about them with us, talking with peers may help immensely," I glance nervously towards Four and Lynn, but they keep their attention on Tori and Amar.

 _Great._

 **Hope you guys like the second chapter, feel free to tell me what you think. Next chapter hopefully up tomorrow :) - D**


	3. Chapter 3

_Tuesday, 26th August 2014_

After ten minutes at Four's house, he is called down by one of the kids who lives there.

"Tobias! Bring your friends down, we're having a family meeting," a screechy voice shouts up the stairs. Four runs out of the room and shouts, "Do NOT call me that!"

The girl just laughs and saunters off into the living room. Four turns back to us, and apologetic smile on his face.

"We have to go down, or they'll come up here and bother us some more," Lynn and I nod as Four leads us back down the stairs.

"Okay boys and girls, it seems that Tobias has brought home some friends, Leanne and Sis?" a middle aged woman asks, a sneer on her face as she looks between the three of us.

"Lynn and Six," Four says, flinging and arm around the two of us.

"You fucking them?" a voice calls from the back. Lynn and I both start to struggle out of Four's hold, but, we don't have to when he suddenly lets go and strides over to the kid at the back. Four is seventeen years old, and this kid can't be any older than sixteen, but, boy, is he massive.

"Don't be so fucking disrespectful, you piece of shit," Four growls at the kid, pinning the guy to the wall by his collar. Lynn and I make our way over there and carefully pry Four away from the kid.

"I'm the one that's disrespectful?" the kid snarls back. Lynn and I drag Four back up the stairs before he can do anything else. We shut his door as he paces back and forth across the room.

"Are you okay?" I ask him as he sits down on the chair in his room. He clears his throat and nods.

"Sorry… about that… Um, yeah…" I nod as does Lynn.

"It's okay…" Lynn says. "…So, about this whole sharing thing, who's going first?" Neither Four or I say anything, so Lynn says, "Okay, I guess that's me then…" she stands up and turns the lock on Four's door, and then pulls out her laptop and starts playing music, placing her laptop next to the door. "I don't want any rich brats listening in…" I nod along and we and huddle closer together so we can hear. "Um, my parents are nice people, y'know, Nurse and an Architect. We have a nice house, nice family, I have a little brother, Hector, my parents absolutely adore him… Shauna and I were best friends when we were younger, but as time went on, she grew up faster than me, started drinking, and got a boyfriend—Zeke. When I grew up, I tried to copy her, started drinking and got a boyfriend, but that's when I realised that I'm gay…" she glances up nervously at us then, but we just smile at her. "Okay, so I dumped my boyfriend, got a girlfriend instead, at this time, I was fourteen, so about two years ago. She—Adelaide was her name—she got me hooked on drugs, it was just weed at the start, but then it was prescription drugs, and I did Heroin once or twice, but Shauna got me into a Rehab program before I could do anything more, that was eight months ago. It was hard y'know, Rehab, they make you go Cold Turkey, no drugs of any kind, and I went crazy. Depraved of what I needed to feel something, I went numb. By the time I had got out, about two months ago, Shauna was really struggling with the drinking, so I made _her_ go Cold Turkey—I cleared out her room, locked her in there and only let her out to wash. It worked too, she kicked it about a month ago, although every now and again, she has a bad day, as do I. A few day after I got out of Rehab, I started in with the Support Group, and it's going good, still yet to tell anyone this, but, yeah, it's nice to have people who care if you get better, instead of parents who just think you're doing it out of spite, to ruin their reputation… Thanks for listening…" she looks up at the end and smiles at us. Then Four and Lynn both turn to me, and I take a deep breath.

"Okay, so, I was fourteen when it first happened… um, my next door neighbour Robert—he was my best friend—we were studying for a maths test. He, um, forced himself on me, and, uh, raped me, because no-one was home. I think I sat in my room for the next week, told my parents I had the flu, and they believed me. I missed the math test—" A rueful laugh chokes it way out of me. "Robert came back the week I was off ill, when my parents were at work and my brother was at an after school club. He did it again, and again—twenty seven times, once or twice a week for just over four months, until I got up the courage to finally tell someone. Robert was arrested. My parents split up about seven months later and my Mum and I moved out here, to Chicago. I speak to my Dad and brother twice a week, on the phone, but it's not the same, y'know. And, uh, so I'm still dealing with what Robert did, whilst settling in to a new city, a new country, missing half my family, and I'm starting in a new school in a few weeks. It's… a bit overwhelming, to say the least…" Lynn smiles at me, but Four just frowns down at his hands. He clears his throat, and sits up a bit straighter.

"Uh, when I was six my Mom died, my dad said it was Cancer, he started drinking, getting violent, and one night, when I was about seven he hit me, just a punch, but it was a big thing back then. After that, it was not much food, less water, he'd lock me in a cupboard for days, or… he'd, uh, he'd beat me with his belt. I was sixteen when I finally put a stop to it, but by then the damage was done…" he stands up, turns around and peels his shirt off. The tattoo is the first thing I see, five symbols down his spine, and fire all across his back and ribs. But, as I look closer, I catch sight of the scars, deep lacerations all across his back. Without thinking, I reach up and run a finger down one of them. He jumps slightly and I recoil.

"Sorry, I-I-"

"Don't worry about it…" He shrugged his shirt back on and sat back down. "He's in jail now, so I have nothing to be afraid off, but y'know, like Lynn said, I had to find another way to feel something, anything. I started getting into fights, cutting myself, do anything to feel it again… Zeke was the one who helped me. At the time, he'd just joined the Support Group, I was homeless, fighting. He saw me at the park once, bruises covered my face and he gave me Amar's number. That was a few months ago, and I'm still yet to thank either of them, but I suppose I should, I'll do that tomorrow. Amar got me in here, and although I hate it, it's better than living under bridges or in parks, so, yeah…" We all just sit there in silence for a minute, until Lynn put her hand out, and signals for us to do the same. She grabs onto Four's wrist, places my hand on her wrist and Four's on my wrist. We all just hold on for a few seconds and then let go.

"Thanks," I say to them. They nod and the shake it off.

"How about a movie, huh? Something a bit lighter?" Lynn suggests, chuckling.

 _Wednesday, 27th August 2014_

The Support Group subject today was about talking about what it felt like to share our experiences.

"It was… freeing, to finally be able to talk about this stuff with other people…" Mar says, smiling at Will and Zeke—the people from her group.

"Okay, and tomorrow it's the last person's house. Try to continue with the bonding, maybe share a bit more… just stay relaxed and keep building the bond," Tori says.

 _Thursday, 28th August 2014_

Lynn and Four arrive at my house at 12 o'clock in the afternoon.

"Hello, my name is Natalie, I'm Beatrice's Mum…"

"Mum… Ugh…" I walk up the stairs of the small house we own, my Mum has the small bedroom downstairs, and I have the bedroom upstairs. I usher them in and sit down on the beanbag that is on my floor.

"Your name is Beatrice…?" Lynn asks, barely holding in the giggles. I nod heedfully, as she bursts out laughing. "We need to find you a better name than that!" she pulls out her laptop and googles my name. "Okay, Bea?" I shudder.

"That's what Robert called me…"

"Okay, moving on… Bebe, no, too similar. Tricia, nah, that sounds like an old person's name. Trixie, my dog was called Trixie… Bess, uh, no. Bee, nope. Bee-Bee, that sound like someone has a stutter. Bee-Rice, da fuck? Bae, ha, no! Trice, that's not even a name! Ah… what about Tris?" she asks. I think about it for a second.

"I like it…" Four says, smiling at me proudly. I nod along.

"Yeah, I can see myself as a Tris…"

"Okay good… Now, Four, what's you're real name?" Lynn asks. Four just shakes his head. "What was it… Tobias! That kid at your house said it…" Lynn grins at Tobias and he just drops his head.

"Har har, laugh it up, it's an old person's name, I know…" he says to Lynn, who is in fits.

"I like it…" I parrot him from earlier.

"I don't…" Tobias says.

"Well, if you don't like it, why don't you change it? I'll search up others…" Lynn says, already tapping away on her laptop.

"My Mom chose it," he says quietly.

"You don't have to change it then, just shorten it?" Lynn suggests. "Like Toby?"

"Nah… I think I'll stick with Four…" he smiles at us.

"Fair enough… What do we want to do today?" I ask. Lynn looks around and then settles on the tattoo on my collar bone.

"What's that?" she asks.

"Oh-" I pull my collar down a bit, exposing the tattoo. "It's three ravens, one for each person in my family…" I say, smiling down at it.

"Cool, I've got a few… my Grandma's name, 'Hector' and 'Shauna', and a few other things."

"I got mine to cover the scars… to gain control over my skin again…" Tobias says quietly.

 **Hope you like:) - D**


	4. Chapter 4

_Friday, 29th August 2014_

"So, now that we've had the bonding week, does anyone want to share any anxieties they have?" Tori asks. I raise my hand slowly. "Go for it Six…"

"Hi, um, my name's Tris, and uh, I'm anxious about, uh, moving to my new school, I'm starting there next week, and I guess with everything else going on too, I'm freaking out a bit…"

"What school is it?" Christina asks.

"Uh, Faction High…" I reply. Christina smiles, as does some of the others in the group.

"We all go to Faction High, except for Four…" she explains.

"Actually, no, I'm switching to Faction High for my Senior year…" Tobias says, smiling shyly.

"Well, that's great! I'm sure the rest of you guys will help Four and Tris out, right?" Amar asks. Everyone else nods and he smiles at us. "Tori and I both work their, too, so we'll be around if you ever need anything…" I can feel most of the anxiety flood out of me, just leaving excitement in it's wake.

Later, when I get home, I get a text from the number I saved as Tobias'.

 _\- Can I walk you to school on Monday?_

 **\- I don't see why not…**

 _\- Great, I'll look forward to it…_

 **\- And why would that be?**

 _\- How long have you got?_

 **\- Pretty long…**

 _\- Well, where do I start… You're funny, smart, gorgeous, you understand me, I understand you, and you're the first person I've felt comfortable around since my Mom died…_

 **\- Oh wow… that's something…**

 _\- So, I can walk you to school?_

 **\- I'll look forward to it…**

A warm, bubbly feeling grows in my stomach at the possibility of something between us, but so does fear. I haven't been even remotely intimate with anyone since the _incident_ with Robert, so I'm still very wary. Maybe, on Monday morning, I'll introduce Tobias to my Mum, she said, ever since we first met Robert, that something seemed off about him. I'll see if she can feel it with Tobias too.

I don't stay awake much longer after the texting session with Tobias—the meeting finished at 9 o'clock in the evening and by the time I had washed and helped clean with my Mum, it was pushing 11 o'clock.

 _Monday, 1st September 2014_

 _There's a knock at the door, Mum has gone out shopping so I'm home alone… I walk down the stairs of the new house in Chicago and open the door to be met by the menacing eyes of Robert._

 _As I try to slam the door shut, his foot stops it… 'Hey, Bea, why so upset, huh? You wanna do some Maths Revision?' I scream out for help, but no-one is around. Robert pushes me up the stairs, holding onto my hips with bruising force. When we get into my room, he rips my clothes off and shoves me down onto the bed. I scream out again, even though I know it's useless. 'Don't worry, Bea, it won't hurt a bit…'_

I sit up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily from the intense nightmare I've just had. After gulping down the remains of the pint of water on my desk, I heave myself out from under the covers and into the shower. I don't know how long I stand there, letting the water glide over my body, but I know it must be a while because it starts to turn cold, _Mum will not be happy about that…_ I turn off the faucet and step out of the bathtub that serves as our shower. The new grey towel I wrap around myself is large, and soft, and it dries me quite fast.

After drying off and blowdrying my hair, I plait it down my back in a simple braid, and pull on a pair of old jeans, knees scuffed from years of clumsiness. The tee shirt is old, my brothers, the NASA logo plastered on the front on top of the dull, blue back canvas.

When I get downstairs, I turn on the hob, making myself and my Mum a batch of porridge—cheap and effective. She trudges her way down the stairs ten minutes later, hair ruffled, and picks up the mug of porridge I set out for her. The bell dings as she chews on her first mouthful and I walk over the get it whilst pulling on my old Doc Martens. Tobias' smiling face meets me as I yank open the old door, and then he catches me as the momentum of the act send me nearly on my ass.

"What is it with you and falling over?" he asks, smiling cheekily at me.

"It's a side effect of falling from a tree aged seven. Head injuries will do that to a person…" I smile at his shocked expression, then groan as my Mum butts in.

"You're down playing it immensely, you were in hospital for _three weeks._ "

"That may be, Mother, but you do _love_ to hyperbolise." I reply, dragging Tobias into the house and shutting the door behind him. "Four, this is my Mother, Natalie. Mum, this is Four, the boy from the Support Group I was spending time with last week, you remember?"

"Yes, I remember, I'm not senile yet, Beatrice."

" _Mum_ , it's Tris now, _remember?_ " Four steps in between my Mum and I, offering a hand to her and introducing himself as 'Tobias'.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Mrs…"

"Prior," I supply.

"Actually, no, I'm going back to my maiden name. Ritter," Mum says.

"You didn't tell me that!" I point out.

"Well, now I am. You two should get going, or you'll be late for school," she says, a sly smile on her face as she looks between the two of us.

"Bye then, have a good day, and don't get into too much trouble," I say, hoiking my backpack up onto my shoulder, nearly hitting Tobias in the process. 'Sorry', I mumble, shoving him out of the door and away from my Mother.

"Your Mom seems nice…" Tobias says, as we walk down the street towards the school.

"Oh, she's lovely, a joy to be around, as long as she's not your Mum," Tobias laughs at that, a joyous, boyish, childish laugh that I should hear from a teenager our age, like Tobias, but never do. "You should laugh more, it suits you…" I say, he smiles at me and we continue walking in silence.

"I like your tee shirt," he says as we turn a corner.

"It was my brother's, he gave it to me before we left, said it was so I would remember him, like I could ever forget him…" I smile down at the geeky tee and pull it slightly, stretching it away from my body. "I like _your_ tee shirt, it's very you…" Tobias looks down at his 'Green Day' band tee shirt. He smiles, shrugs and looks back at me.

"I like Punk Rock, what can I say?"

"You don't need to say anything, I'm on the same bandwagon," We smile at each other, but they're wiped off when the school comes into sight. I catch sight of two teens making out against a car and freeze. My palms start sweating and my mind races.

"Are you okay, Tris?" Tobias asks, stepping in front of me.

"I-I"

"Listen, it's okay, you've gone through something terrible, you're entitled to minor freak outs every now and again," he takes hold of my hands gently, and I feel my body relax.

"I'll protect you if you want?" I nod my head and he smiles slightly. "Then, let's get going…" he turns back to the school and starts walking, keeping hold of my hand. As we walk onto school grounds, people look at us, we are the new kids after all. The receptionist at the desk gives us a bored 'Good morning' and two clipboards. We fill them out with our personal information and when we hand them back in, she gives us timetables and locker codes.

"Mine's locker number 103…" I say as Tobias grabs hold of my hand again. We pass another couple getting hands-y in the corridor and I feel myself tense up, but Tobias just whispers caring words to me and pulls me along.

"Mine locker is number… 107, they should be a few away from each other."

After finding our lockers and picking up the textbooks left in there, we make our way to Homeroom. As Tobias is a Senior, he's in a different Homeroom to me, so he says goodbye, pushes a smile onto my face with his thumbs, and walks off. I take a deep breath and open the door to my class.

"Ah, you must be the new student…"


	5. Chapter 5

"Ah, you must be the new student…" My teacher says.

"Yes, Tris Prior…" I say. The man smiles at me and says,

"My name is Mr Rogers, come, take a seat next to Gabe." The boy in question has dark hair, swept to the side but, still unruly. He has a septum ring in his nose and is wearing dark colours. I drop down into the seat next to him and smile shyly.

During first period, I spend most of my time talking to Marlene and Uriah. They invite me to join them at lunch and all I can think is, _I'll be going where ever Tobias is…_ But, I smile and I nod, and Maths finally ends.

English came next, followed by Chemistry, but now I have Music.

Music has always been my favourite subject. I learnt how to play the Guitar at age seven and Piano at twelve. Caleb always said I have a great singing voice, but am yet to sing in front of anyone not blood related.

As I walk into the class, the eruption of a cheer shocks me at first, but then I notice Lynn, Christina, Uriah and Marlene all sitting at the back. I make my way over to them, smiling cheerily.

"Hey guys, it's great to see you, I just had to sit through Chemistry and I feel like my head is going to explode…" I say, collapsing in an old plastic chair.

"Hey Tris. So, I saw you with Four this morning, holding hands, anything going on between you two?" Christina asks. I feel the tension build in my shoulders as the question is formed. I shake my head and mentally curse when I see Lynn's expression.

"Christina! Do you not remember what happened, Jeez, talk about insensitive much!" I relax slightly, but Christina's face crumbles.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot! I'm sorry…" I chuckle slightly and assure her that it's okay, that I'm just being stupid.

Music passes quickly as the teacher explains the syllabus for the year. Lynn drags me through the corridors towards the cafeteria and then pulls my down into a seat at a large table which she explains is never sat on by anyone but their gang. Zeke and Shauna arrive a few minutes later, sitting next to Uriah and Marlene, across from Lynn and myself. There's one seat next to me which is promptly taken by Tobias as soon as he enters the room. Will takes the seat next to Christina and everyone digs into their food.

"Hey guys, this weekend, we're having a small party, just us lot, you wanna come?" Zeke asks, after devouring the sandwich from his backpack. Tobias looks at me, smiles when I nod and then turns back to Zeke.

"We're in, but, you'll have to give us directions," Zeke nods back at Tobias, then checks his watch.

"Lunch is over, What have you got next Four?" he asks.

"Uh, Phys Ed." Tobias replies. Zeke smiles.

"Ah, Phys Ed with the Juniors…" I look up at Zeke.

"What?" I squeak out.

"Yeah, Senior and Junior have joint Phys Ed, boys and girls, it just depends on which class you have. See, Four and I have Amar… Who do you have?"

"Amar…" I choke out. Tobias turns to me.

"Are you alright Tris? You look like your gonna throw up…" he grabs my hands again, and makes me take a deep breath. Most of my anxiety leaves at that, and then Lynn grabs my hand and drags me to the changing rooms. I get changed in the toilet part of the changing room, putting on my sports bra and shorts, then my tee shirt and hooded jumper over the top. After leaving the toilet stall, I pull on my trainers and walk out with Lynn who is just in shorts and a sports bra.

"We're not allowed jumpers in Phys Ed…" She says, walking over to the rest of the class.

As I walk over to the bleachers, taking my jumper off, my tee shirt gets caught up with it, and it gets stuck around my arms and my head. I feel the fear build up inside, _people can see me, they can see how childish I look…_

"Tris?" I hear, it sounds like Tobias, but I can't tell because it's muffled by the jumper.

"Help!" I squeak out. Then I feel someone pulling the tee shirt down, and the jumper off. I'm greeted by Tobias' amused face as I throw the jumper down onto the bleachers.

"Come on…" he says, dragging me over to the rest of the class.

"Hello class, my name is Amar, I will be your teacher for this year… To start off, I would like every one to run a lap around the football pitch…"

Phys Ed wasn't so bad, I've always been quite good at running. Now, it's the end of the day and I'm walking out of the school with Lynn. I spot Tobias waiting in the car park, and wave him over. We walk home chatting about various things that happened during the day, and I feel myself blush profusely when Tobias tells the story of my jumper situation.

"Do you want me to pick you up for the meeting tonight?" Tobias asks me after we passed Lynn's house.

"That would be very helpful actually, Mum always _half_ complains that she could be doing my productive things, so I'll run the idea by her and call you later?" I ask. He smiles happily at me and nods.

"I'll be waiting by the phone..." I smile back at him, and turn into my driveway.

"Mum?" I shout out as I close the front door behind me.

"Tris, honey, how was your day?" she replies, still sitting at the table in her pyjamas, but with her laptop in front of her.

"It was fine, made a few more friends, actually one of them invited us all round to his house on Saturday... can I go?" I ask, sitting down opposite her.

"Yeah, I don't see why not, as long as you give me the address and call me if you go anywhere else."

"Okay, Mum, will do... also, Tobias, the guy from this morning... he's offered to drive me to the meeting tonight, what do you think?" I ask. Mum shuts her laptop, and sips at her drink for a moment, looking into my eyes.

"Do you like this boy?"

"I mean, yeah, he's a nice guy, helped a lot already with the anxiety... He's a good friend." Mum shakes her head slightly.

"No, I mean _more_ than a friend..." I gulp slightly at the thought, but feel myself nodding minutely.

"Yeah, I could see that... I guess... Why, what do you think?"

"I think he seems lovely, a bit reserved, but lovely."

"So, you're not getting the 'Robert vibes'?" I ask.

"Nope, no 'Robert vibes'. Honestly, he seems like the kind of guy that would stick with you forever, the one that would fall hard if he ever fell..." I nod at her words.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna call him, tell him about the pick up arrangements for later..." I pull my phone out of my pocket and stand up, grabbing an apple whilst the call rings.

 _"Hey Tris!"_

"Hey, um, my Mum says it's fine for you to pick me up…" I say down the line.

"Tell him I say 'Thanks'," my Mum says, re-opening her laptop.

"She says 'Thanks'..."

 _"That's great, so, the meeting starts at 7 o'clock, so if I pick you up around half past 6, is that alright?"_

"That's perfect, thanks..."

 _"Okay, great. See you then..."_ The line cuts off then, and I take another bit of apple.

"He's picking me up at 6:30..." I say to my Mum.

"Well, it's 4 o'clock now, go and have a shower, I'll cook you some dinner..." At this, I rush off up the stairs and turn on the bath taps. I add a lot of bubble bath mix, and let it do it's thing. When I stop in at my room whilst my bath if running, I open my MacBook that I got for my sixteenth birthday, a couple of weeks ago. I start my Spotify playlist, and as I have my bath, I sing along with the songs.

My Mum calls me down for dinner at about quarter past 5, leaving me about forty-five minutes to get ready for the Support Meeting, that's plenty of time. I restart my music and dance around my room, pulling out a pair of jeans, yanking them on as I dance. I pull on a dark grey tee shirt, and a black hoodie. The time passes faster when I'm dancing around so I don't realise that it's half past 6 until I hear my door open. I spin round too fast and nearly fall into the door, but _yet again_ Tobias catches me.

"Sorry! Shit, is it half past already?" I ask. Tobias nods, amused by my panic.

"Don't rush! you'll just fall over again!" he says as I spin around, trying to pull on my shoes, and braid my hair at the same time. "Here, let me..." he says, carefully prying my hands away from my hair. He starts to braid my hair down my spine like an expert.

"When did you get so good at that?" I ask, turning around to look at him after he's secured the plait.

"There's a little girl in the foster home, Sophie, she, uh, she taught me how to do it, so I could braid her hair for school every morning..." I smile at Tobias' blush and then I finish tying my shoes.

"That's adorable..." I push Tobias out of my room and urge him down the stairs. We are intercepted by my Mother on the way and she hands Tobias five dollars.

"Gas money..." she explains, Tobias shakes his head.

"I can't take that from you, it's not like your house is very out of the way, and I was going to the Meeting anyway, it's really no problem at all..." My Mother nods along, but then shoves the five dollars in the pocket of his jacket anyway. I laugh as she struts off, throwing a 'Suck it up, and take it, Tobias' over her shoulder.

And off to the Support Meeting we go...


End file.
